Happy Sunday Canary Crew! Thanks for checking out my best FREE NFL Week 1 DFS Lineups for FanDuel and DraftKings. Today is a day that many people (myself included) didn’t think would actually get here, but alas, it has arrived. The first full Sunday of NFL football in 2020 and it comes at the perfect time. Considering everything that our country has been through over the past several months, NFL football is a welcome distraction for many people, myself included.
It’s been quite the busy week at the Flashlight household so unfortunately I wasn’t able to carve out any time to put out content earlier in the week but I wasn’t about to leave you guys hanging without my best lineups for Week 1. Rest assured I still spent all the time necessary to find the best options for this week.
I’m of the opinion that Week 1 in the NFL is going to be wild and with no training camps or preseason games I’ve gravitated towards teams/players who are in established coaching/scheme situations. My take is that players who had to learn the least this off season are in the best position.
For those of you who are new to my content or those who have forgotten after a long off season, my breakdown covers the Sunday Main slate of games, so no TNF, SNF or MNF players will be covered. The bulk of the action on both sites is on the main slate so that’s why I narrow my focus.
First I’ll hit you with THE FLASHLIGHT’S CORE – These are “my guys” for the week who are common between my lineups on both FanDuel and DraftKings. Then I’ll let you know who I’m using to fill out each roster by site. Finally, I’ll show you my lineups. Keep in mind that I do make changes on Sunday morning if news breaks. If that happens I’ll tweet out the link to this updated article.
So make sure you follow me on Twitter @FlashlightDFS for my latest updates, last minute info, game day entertainment, seasonal or daily lineup advice or just to shoot the breeze about football.
As you’re building your lineups, a couple of words of advice:
CASH GAMES (Majority of my play, my lineups are CASH lineups)
- Don’t feel the need to stack players (QB paired with WR or TE). I don’t recommend stacking QB with RB in any cash game situation.
- It’s not usually a good idea to play anyone against your defense, especially QB (ie. Don’t play Washington D and Carson Wentz). If one succeeds it’s likely at the expense of the other.
- Don’t start multiple position players from the same team. There’s only 1 ball to go around, spread your risk.
GPP/TOURNAMENTS
- Stacking a game (QB/WR/TE from same team) can be a good idea but there’s a lot of risk if the game doesn’t score big.
- Stacking a RB with a QB is rarely a good play and I don’t recommend it.
- If you do stack a team it’s a good idea to get a WR/TE from the opponent. If one team blows up their opponent is likely to pass a lot to get back in to it. Get your points from both teams in a high scoring game.
- Tournaments are often won by lineups that have one or two low owned players, but they have stars and higher owned players too. Keep balance in your lineup and don’t go crazy trying to find all the Sammy Watkins Week 1 miracle shots.
If you’re new to DFS I HIGHLY recommend that you check out the series of articles below.
Daily Fantasy Football Advice – An Introduction
FanDuel vs DraftKings – Quick Comparison
How To Find Winning Daily Fantasy Football Games
It would be a dereliction of my duty as your fantasy football source if I didn’t mention the significant injury news that has broken on Saturday for several key players.
IMPACT INJURIES
Mike Evans, WR Tampa Bay (Doubtful) – Evans was expected to be a favored target for Tom Brady but as per Adam Schefter he’s been downgraded to doubtful and will likely miss the game. This has to help Chris Godwin and Rob Gronkowski as those Evans targets have to go somewhere.
Miles Sanders, RB Philadelphia (Out) – Well this just sucks. I was BIG on Sanders this season and picked him up in several of my drafts. It’s gonna be some sort of combination of Boston Scott and Corey Clement who soak up most of the work. Scott seems to be the favorite of the masses out there and at his price he’s worth a look. I’m getting exposure to Clement only in my GPP lineups.
Kenny Golladay, WR Detroit (Doubtful) – Oh my god, they killed Kenny! Sorry, had to do that. But honestly it’s a killer injury to many fantasy teams. The most obvious beneficiary is Marvin Jones who will pick up the slack at WR. It could create a few more looks to T.J. Hockenson at TE but I’m staying away from him.
That wraps up the injury new for right now. On to the lineups!
THE FLASHLIGHT’S CORE
RUNNING BACK
Josh Jacobs ($8200 FD/$6800 DK) – Jacobs is coming off a very good rookie season that saw him carry it 242 times for 1150 yards and 7 TD. He’s certain to be the focus of this Las Vegas offense and there hasn’t been any changes with the offensive coordinator or head coach. Carolina is a hollow shell of a defense and won’t be able to stop the run (or the pass for that matter) so I see 20+ touches for Jacobs here which should translate in to big fantasy points.
WIDE RECEIVER
Calvin Ridley ($6600 FD/$6100 DK) – Ridley has had two consecutive seasons of 60+catches, 800+ yards and 7+ touchdowns. Solid start to a career when you consider that he’s playing in the shadow of hall-of-famer Julio Jones. I see this game as a shootout, as does the rest of the country. Ridley is a way to get cheaper exposure to the Atlanta passing offense and good play for us today.
DK Metcalf ($6400 FD/$5800 DK) – Metcalf is a #1 WR priced like a low end #2 this week, so get him on the cheap while you can. I admit that I doubted his ability to succeed on the NFL level at the start of last season but he proved me and many other people wrong there. Atlanta hasn’t improved their pass defense especially on the outside and DK stands to the primary beneficiary if they #LetRussCook.
Emmanuel Sanders ($5600 FD/$5700 DK) – This is a game script pick for me although I personally thing Sanders will have a defined role all season so he’s on many of my season long teams as well. Tampa Bay knows they have to double up Michael Thomas and Alvin Kamara but you can’t cover everyone…that puts us squarely on Sanders. The Tampa defense should stop the run but be suspect against the pass so I love a veteran WR with good hands to be Drew Brees’ safety blanket.
DEFENSE/SPECIAL TEAMS
Indianapolis Colts ($3700 FD/$3000 DK) – The Jags stink with the exception of DJ Chark. Meanwhile, the Colts have added talent to their defense on the line and defensive backfield. This has potential blowout all over it and and I’m running the Colts out while they’re still affordable.
FANDUEL
THE FLASHLIGHT’S CORE PLUS:
QB – Drew Brees ($8100) – Veteran QB with the same offense as last year fits my check boxes for Week 1. Tampa Bay will be able to stuff the run meaning Brees should have to sling it 40+ times against a suspect pass defense. Sign me up.
RB – Christian McCaffrey ($10000) – There’s not much to explain here. He’s just the most productive fantasy player over the last two seasons playing in a football game. He’s gonna get runs, he’s gonna catch it from Teddy Checkdown and the Las Vegas Defense doesn’t scare me.
RB – Marlon Mack ($6100) – Gone are the days of the Jaguars defense being intimidating. They cleaned house and left the cupboards bare. The Colts have the best offensive line in the NFL and should get a lead and run them in to the ground. Yes, Mack will share work with Jonathan Taylor. Yes, I think Taylor takes over the starting role. No, I don’t think it happens this week. Mack will be the lead guy this week at least and I want a piece of him.
TE – Jack Doyle ($5300) – Doyle is the only show in town with Trae Burton being ruled out. New Colts QB Phillip Rivers has been known to target his TE, especially in the red zone so Doyle is a perfect fit for out lineup.
DRAFTKINGS
THE FLASHLIGHT’S CORE PLUS:
QB – Aaron Rodgers ($6300) – Again we’re going with a veteran QB whose offensive scheme didn’t change of the off season. The Vikings defense isn’t going to look like it did last year, they lost several key players on the line, and in the backfield. Aaron Rodgers facing three inexperience DB’s? Yes please.
RB – Boston Scott ($4800) – The price is too good to ignore and the Eagles still have WR issues. The offensive scheme that they run dictate that the RB position has to catch the ball and Scott looks to be in line for more work than his counterparts. Let’s pay down here and find a superstar elsewhere.
WR – Chris Godwin ($7100) – I love Godwin overall as a player and he has the potential for a big week in on of the higher total games of the week. Mike Evans probably won’t go leaving Godwin as the primary target for some guy named Brady. Brady’s starting the worlds biggest F-You tour this week and Godwin will benefit.
TE – Hayden Hurst ($4300) – Hurst takes over in Atlanta for Austin Hooper who posted 75/787/6 stat line in 2019 in this offense. Hurst is a capable receiver and will take over the same role, meaning he will be a key part of the offensive plan. It’s great cheap exposure to the Falcons potent offense.
FLASHLIGHT’S FAVORITE BETS
FUTURE – Indianapolis Colts AFC Champ +1200
FUTURE – Indianapolis Colts SB 55 Champ +2800
FUTURE – Pittsburgh Steelers AFC Champ +1000
FUTURE – Pittsburgh Steelers SB 55 Champ +2500
Green Bay +2.5
Green Bay ML +120
Bengals/Chargers OVER 41
Rams +2.5
Rams ML +120
Steelers -6
Ok Canary Crew, that wraps it up for Week 1. I’m excited to get things started. Good Luck!
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